James
3:1-18 Making your words Count
What
do Michael Jordan / Gene Simmons and Jenna Bush all have in common
A) Greatest ever to Play NBA
rock Star Presidents Daughter
B) They all have been
photographed with their tongues sticking out
C)
The Tongue is an interesting part of the Human body
1)
Did you know that your tongue is # 1 muscle in your body that receives the most
exercise & less control than any other?
D) Kind of an ugly thing -especially disconnected! Ever seen a cows tongue.
But
the tongue is also a very helpful organ: tasting,
chewing, swallowing, closing the opening of our trachea, & it helps in
making sounds
& thats where it gets us into trouble!
A) James has been talking about how works define our faith and what we say and
how we say it is a part of that.
Aa) No where is the union of
faith and works more visible than in your speech.
B)
Remember the old days when you went to the doctor and the nurse would put the
thermometer under your tongue to take your Physical temperature?
1) Well, James says, your tongue can also tell your spiritual temperature.
C) The First thing that
James wants us to know is that if your tongue is in order your life will be in
order! James 3:1-2
My brethren, let not many of you become
teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all
stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect
man, able also to bridle the whole body.
Do
you realize that you speak about 18 to 25 thousand words a day?
A)
Some people have said that men speak 25 thousand words a day and women speak 30
thousand words a day,
B) I don't know who counted
that up, but the difficulty is by the time the man comes home from work, he has already spent his 25 thousand and the woman
hasn't started on her 30 thousand.
1)
She's been waiting for that opportunity.
C)
But we speak a tremendous number of words a day. Somebody calculated that we
probably put together a 54-page book every day. And in a year, we would
probably produce about 21,610pages
D)
This may shock you. You will, if you're a normal person, spend one fifth of
your life talking.
1)
James wants us to make our words count That is the issue that James addresses
here in Ch.3 The tongue
Now the Bible declares that
we will all give an account for the words we speak!
Matthew
12:34-37
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his
heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings
forth evil things. But I say to you
that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day
of judgment. For by your words you
will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
The
truth we learn here is this: When we talk, God pays attention He takes
inventory of our words
A)We are all going to have
to answer for our words.
B)Translate v.1 this way:
Id give teaching another thought
1)Good thing Paul said
desire James adds it is also a serious thing.
C)It is a serious thing to
handle Gods word Holy thing!
1 Peter 4:11
If anyone speaks,
let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with
the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through
Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
Oracles Gods mouth piece
God
Judges our motive some people want to teach because they like to hear
themselves talk
A) Peter says remember the
motive is to glorify God
B) Judged by clarity: How
well we handled the text
1) Accurate in communicating
Gods heart
C) Also Conduct Need to
live what you preach
1) Serious business
Ecclesiastes
5:1-2
Walk prudently
when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the
sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be rash with your mouth,
And let not
your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let
your words be few.
D) So we are all going to
give an account for our words but teaching is extra strict Judgment
E) Tongue is in order your
life will be in order!
To help us
understand that, James gives us two illustrations. Verse 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses'
mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
A) My
wife Denise loves to ride horses Growing up in Oregon
B)
Horseback riding is an interesting thing You have this 1200lb animal set a
100lb woman on its back 1)and she can control that horse how is that
possible?
C)You control a horse by
controlling his tongue. You put a piece of metal in a horse's mouth.
1)
It lays on his tongue. A Bit
D)
Without that a horse will not do what you need it to do.
Did
you ever know a horse to volunteer to plow a field? Just show up one
day..."Like to plow your field, sir." Did you ever know a horse to
volunteer to pull a wagon? How about a horse volunteer to carry a rider?
You
have to break them, don't you? And you break them with a bit in the mouth and you control the whole body by controlling
the tongue.
That's
what James is saying. You get control of your tongue and you can direct your
whole body.
A)
Everything else comes into line.
Another
illustration he gives in verse 4 Look also at
ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are
turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
A)That's
another very graphic illustration. A huge cruise ship 70,000 ton vessel a
city on water
B)
IS controlled by a little rudder
captain steers the ship simply amazing that huge vessel being steered by
such a small object
C)
The tongue is a small thing but under the right influence it is powerful.
And he sums it
up in verse 5. "Even so, the tongue is a little
member but boasts great things."
A)Stop
there. What does he mean? it boasts great things.
B) It is capable of great
things. It's potent. Great potential for Good list
1)
It can build up. It can express love, enthusiasm, encouragement, comfort,
peace, joy.
C) It can proclaim Gods
word preach the goodnews direct a nation Famous speeches
1)
The tongue is a powerful thing.
D) Power to do a lot of Good
But it also has the power to bring much destruction!
But
it is also destructive 5 Even so the tongue is a
little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire
kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set
among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course
of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
A)
The tongue is like fire- Fire place is great warm you But in a forest much destruction
B) We are well aware. Recent
So. Cal
At least 1,500 homes were
destroyed and over 500,000 acres of land burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.Mexico border.
Nine people died as a direct result of the fire;85
others were injured, including at least 61 fire fighters.
C)Tongue is like a fire
little member it can do a lot of damage.
1)It
can tear down people. It can tear down churches. It can destroy relationships.
D)It
can wreck a marriage. It can devastate a family. It can rip up a nation.
1)It
can lead to murder. It can lead to war.
In
Proverbs 16:27 it says "An ungodly man digs up evil and in his lips there
is a burning fire."
Proverbs
26:20 says, "Where no wood is, there the fire goes out. So where there is
no tale bearer, the strife ceases."
A)
And the picture here is that the tale-bearer or the one who passes on the evil
report of the slander or the gossip or the lie is like the wood that fuels the
fire.
B)
The same Proverbs 26:21
"But as coals are to
burning coals and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife."
C) The word
"kindle" means to burn up.
1)The
picture again of gossip and slander and contention being a fire that
devastates.
Morgan
Blake, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, wrote I think an interesting
statement. He said,
"I
am more deadly than the screaming shell from the Howitzer. I win without
killing. I tear down homes, break hearts and wreck lives. I travel on the wings
of the wind. No innocence is strong enough to intimidate me. No purity pure
enough to daunt me. I have no regard for truth, no respect for justice, no
mercy for the defenseless. My victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea
and often as innocent. I never forget and seldom forgive and my name is
gossip."
The
Church loves to disquise it in spiritual garb
Dont
tell anyone what I am about to tell you I promised the person who told me I
wouldnt tell but I am telling you so you can pray
That
type of dialogue sick inflates our ego I have the goods I know
something
A)
Sad when a person gets their sense of self worth from knowing something bad
about someone else Sick
B)
How those tabloids stay in business there is something so wicked in the heart
of man that longs to know and to share that sort of garbage
C)And
we in the Church are not immune We just dress it up in spiritual terms we
really need to pray- give me a break so often that is just Christian
Tabloidism
D)
Now we have bloggs share our opinions about someone under an alias Wicked
wrong
Look at James description
again in V.6 - heavy
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so
set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the
course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
I
believe, is the strongest statement ever made on the danger of the mouth.. 4 parts
A) Number one, it
is a world of iniquity.
B)
Now that's a strange title for a tongue...a world
.
1)
not in the sense of the physical earth but a system of evil.
C)
And what he is saying is the tongue is an iniquitous system.
1)
It is an unrighteous hostile rebelling order within our humanness.
D) It is a whole potential evil
that falls short of God's standard.
1)
It is the focal point of behavioral unrighteousness within man.
E)
Like a fire it inflames all of our capacities in its effort to bring the whole
person into its wicked system.
One
commentator said it is the microcosm of evil among our members.. No other
bodily part has such far-reaching potential for disaster as the tongue.
So,
first of all, in itself and by itself, it is a system of iniquity. It is a
network that breeds evil.
Notice
how this begins to expand now.
A )Secondly, the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles
the entire body.
B) It in itself is a system
of evil and then it defiles the whole body.
1)
It's like smoke from a fire, stains everything that doesn't burn
C)
So, first of all, in your mouth you have a system of iniquity. Secondly, it will stain and burn your whole person.
And look at
thirdly, this is really incredible, it expands again.
"And it sets on fire the whole course of nature,"
A) A better translation
Authorized, "It is setting--present tense--on
fire the circle of life."
B) The thought is expanding.
First is the system of wickedness.
1)
Second, it stains the whole person.
C)
Now it sets ablaze, and the Greek is, "the wheel of birth" or
"the circle of life." What does that mean?
The
whole machinery of your life. It not only stains you, but it touches everything
you touch.
A) It effects the whole
machinery of your life.
B) It goes beyond the body
to touch every participant in the circle of your life.
C)
And then he speaks of a fourth factor, this is the most devastating statement
on the danger of the tongue.
D)
He says finally at the end of verse 6, "It is set on fire by hell." Present
tense, it is habitually being lit--as it were--by hell.
Originates
from the heart of Satan himself
E) Isnt that heavy Our
tongues can be an instrument used of God bring life and revelation
1)
Peter You are the Christ Flesh and blood
.
F)
The same time our tongues can be used by Satan himself to bring death and
discouragement
1)
Peter again: Lord, dont talk like that Get behind me Satan
Now in V.7 -8 James presents
a paradox
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of
the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the
tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
At first glance it would
seem that James has been setting us up for a fall telling us that the person
who can control the tongue can control the whole body
Sign of
Spiritual maturity
Then
he throws down the gauntlet
A) We can tame animals
think whales horses dogs cats elephants lions tigers dolphins /you name
it
B) But no man
can tame the tongue! What? James why didnt
you say that in the first place wasting 8 verses to bring us to this
disappointing conclusion
C) What James is wanting us
to catch is sort of a double metaphor on the one hand saying look what man can do tame all these animals
On
the other hand He wants us to see that when it comes to the taming of the
tongue this is not MAN THING BUT A GOD THING!
A) No man, emphasis man, can
tame the tongue but God can that is James point.
B) In the same way that a
horse needs a rider and a ship needs a captain
1) Your tongue needs a
captain -
C) It is an appeal for
surrender - More surrendered the more
control
1) Want to make your words
count give your tongue to God
Some
horses have a soft mouth, others have one that doesnt give very well to the bit. (some
turn with your pinky, others take a good tug)
Q:
Would you consider your mouth to be a soft mouth
(easily controlled by its rider) or one that doesnt
give to the bit?
Q:
Has your mouth been a little sore from your master pulling.
Go
back to the words of Jesus Out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaks
A) The issue is the heart
the source what is feeding controlling your heart
B)
That is where it starts it all stems from the source { James points out in
the following vs
9 With it we
bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the
similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My
brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh
water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear
olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and
fresh.
Here
is the point: A tree is made to bring forth one kind of fruit plant fig tree
= figs
A) Grapevine grapes Olive
tree Olives
B) So too a spring is meant
to produce one kind of water fresh
C)The product is going to be
connected to the source
That
is the thing that James really wants us to catch
Who
is our source? Jesus
A) More connected to Him
more our speech is going to be that
which builds up, brings life
B) Rather than that which
tears down and brings death.
C) What is coming out is a
direct result of what is being put into the heart.
D)James
builds on this idea in the vs that follow.
James 3:13-18
Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done
in the meekness of wisdom./
14 But if you have bitter envy and
self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This
wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For
where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17 But the
wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to
yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
If
the Source is from Hell From Satan Demonic
Result:
Bitter envy: Bitter I am bothered
Envy:
I want
Selfseeking
Lying
Confusion
Every evil thing
But
if the source is from above:
Pure
Peaceable
Gentle
Willing to yield
Not Partial
Without Hypocrisy